


Words and Worth

by pomegranateoctopus



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Emotional Conversations, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Opening Up, People Say Mean Things About Yuuri, Viktor Is Mad, Viktor with a K, Viktor's POV, Yuuri Has Low Self Esteem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 22:50:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9208604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pomegranateoctopus/pseuds/pomegranateoctopus
Summary: Viktor overhears some fans saying not-nice things about Yuuri. It makes him angry.





	

“Is that Viktor Nikiforov?”

“I think it is!”

Viktor smiled to himself. It was always flattering to run into fans. He snuck a glance at the source of the voices, two women sitting at a table a few feet away from the restaurant’s pickup area, where Viktor was waiting for his and Yuuri’s dinner. It had been a long day of practice. Yuuri had landed his jumps much more frequently than usual, and in celebration Viktor offered to buy them dinner from the most authentic Japanese restaurant in the vicinity their apartment. The food couldn’t compare to Hiroko’s cooking, but Yuuri still liked it and Viktor knew Japanese food helped to ease the homesickness Yuuri felt from time to time.

“I’m so glad he’s going to be competing again this year!”

“Did you hear? Apparently he’s going to keep coaching that Japanese guy _while_ he’s competing.”

“Oh my god, seriously? He’s not even that good.”

Viktor’s smile fell away. At this point, he probably shouldn’t have been surprised to hear such a thing from one of his fans, but it still caught him off guard sometimes. It never ceased to bewilder him how cruel the skating world’s attitude towards Yuuri could be. Viktor had heard similar things from fans, the press, fellow coaches, and even other skaters, all disregarding Yuuri’s considerable skills as a skater. Viktor pulled out his phone, opening his Solitaire app to distract himself from the conversation, but he couldn’t help but overhear the women.

“I seriously don’t understand why Viktor’s wasting his time with him. First he makes him take a year off, and now he’s still making him coach while Viktor’s trying to make a comeback? He’s so selfish.”

“I know right? I could understand it if he were like, a prodigy or something, but he’s not! Sure he got silver at the Grand Prix, but have you seen him perform? He messes up so much, it’s embarrassing.”

Viktor gripped his phone tight and took a deep breath. He knew that these women were probably casual fans with no idea about the difficulties of professional skating, but he couldn’t help but be frustrated. How could they talk about Yuuri, one of the top skaters in the world, like he was nothing?

“And God, that Short Program he did? That guy couldn’t pull off sexy if his life depended on it.”

“Yeah. I mean he’s not bad looking or anything but he’s just not hot. Not _Viktor_ hot anyway.”

“Seriously. What the hell is a guy like Viktor doing with his boring looking ass?”

“I think I heard somewhere that they’re _engaged_ now.” The other woman snorted.

“Like that’s going to last. I almost feel bad for the guy now.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s all a publicity stunt anyway. There’s no way Viktor’s actually in love with him.”

Viktor wanted to throw his phone across the room. He wanted to shout at these ignorant women “ _How dare you talk about my Yuuri like that!_ ” He wanted to scream in frustration, or stomp out of the restaurant, or somehow summon Yuuri right there and make a big public scene of showing him just how in love Viktor really was. Viktor did none of these things. Instead, he slipped his phone back in his coat pocket along with his other hand, clenching both into tight fists, and stared at the floor. For as much as he had a reputation for being emotional and overdramatic, Viktor was used to carefully controlling his emotions. Making a scene would only damage his public image as well as Yuuri’s, and as much as he wanted to call out these rude fans, he knew it would do little to help how the world saw his Yuuri.

“Takeout order for Viktor?”

He looked up to see an employee bagging up Styrofoam containers of food, and Viktor’s shoulders sagged in relief. He paid for the food as quickly as possible, thanking the employee as he bustled out of the restaurant and into the cold St. Petersburg evening. On the way home, Viktor tried to think of anything but the conversation he had overheard. He tried to imagine having dinner with Yuuri, the choreography from his programs, and what he might get Yurio for his birthday, but his mind kept coming back to those rude women. By the time he was opening the door to their apartment, he was practically shaking with anger at their insensitive words. He was thankfully distracted from his thoughts by a bark, as Makkachin bounded toward him and began sniffing the takeout bag.

“Not for you,” he laughed, giving the poodle a scratch behind the ears.

“Welcome back.”

Viktor looked up from the dog to see Yuuri standing in the hallway, a soft smile on his face. He took in his fiancé’s dark hair, longer now than when they first met, warm brown eyes and soft face, and he couldn’t comprehend how the world couldn’t see how beautiful this man was. Viktor wrapped him in a hug, overwhelmed by the need to show Yuuri how loved he was after those hurtful words Yuuri hadn’t even heard.

“We should eat soon, before the food gets cold,” Yuuri said, muffled by Viktor’s shoulder.

“Right.” Viktor pulled away hesitantly, kissing Yuuri’s cheek before the couple migrated into their kitchen. Viktor pulled plates out of the cabinets as Yuuri began opening the takeout containers.

“Viktor?”

Yuuri looked at Viktor, eyebrows furrowed and asked, “Are you okay?”

Viktor was taken aback, startled that he was visibly upset enough for Yuuri to notice, but he quickly plastered a smile on his face.

“Just fine,” He replied, and Yuuri’s face fell. He took a step towards Viktor, taking his hand, a sad expression on his face.

“Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but please don’t act like everything’s okay when I can see it’s not.”

It surprised Viktor, sometimes, how perceptive Yuuri could be. In the time they’d known each other, Yuuri had picked up on how Viktor hid his more negative emotions behind a smile. Earlier in their relationship, Yuuri would never have insisted like he had, but now Yuuri stood firm and asked Viktor to be honest with him. Viktor felt a twinge of pride at his fiancé’s growing confidence.

“I’ll tell you after dinner.”

“Okay,” Yuuri replied softly, squeezing Viktor’s hand as he turned back to the food.

 

Dinner was quiet, mostly silence filled occasionally with light conversation about training and the upcoming season and their rinkmates. By the end of the meal, Viktor had an idea of what he wanted to say. Leftovers in the fridge and dishes in the sink, the two moved to the living room and settled on the couch. For a few minutes, they simply sat on the couch together, the tv playing a show they paid half-attention to with the volume low. Abruptly, Viktor wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s waist, lying on his stomach and burying his face in his fiancé’s chest.

“I hate how they talk about you,” he mumbled.

“How who talks about me?”

“Everyone,” Viktor practically whined, “Fans, reporters, skaters. They all talk about you like you’re not good enough. Like I’m wasting my time coaching you and being with you.”

Yuuri stroked his hair, softly remarking, “Well, I did steal you away from the skating world for a year. Of course they’d be upset about it.”

“But you didn’t!” Viktor lifted his head, looking into Yuuri’s eyes, “I _chose_ to come and coach you, because you _inspired_ me! Why can’t they respect that I made that decision? Why can’t they see how much potential you had, even back when you were in sixth place at the Grand Prix?”

Yuuri said nothing, still slowly caressing Viktor’s hair.

“You’re an _amazing_ skater, Yuuri. You may not land your jumps all the time, but I’ve never seen another skater move like you do! It’s _beautiful_ ; I can never keep my eyes off you! Why can’t anyone see that?”

Viktor sighed, laying his head back down and taking Yuuri’s right hand.

“And then they have to act like not only are you not worthy of me as a skater, you’re also not worthy of me as a person. They call you plain and unattractive, and say that I can’t possibly love you! As if you aren’t the loveliest person I’ve ever seen.”

Yuuri’s hand stopped, and Viktor felt him turn his head away, but he continued.

“They act like it’s not enough that the time I’ve spent with you is the happiest I’ve been in years. That even if you weren’t a skater at all, you would still be the kindest, smartest, sweetest person I’ve ever met and I’m grateful every day that I got to meet you.”

Yuuri was still quiet as Viktor squeezed his hand.

“And I’d be fine with hearing all this if it wasn’t for the fact that you think these things about yourself too.”

“Viktor…” Yuuri whispered. Viktor sat up on his knees, taking both of Yuuri’s hands in his own and looking the other man in the eyes. Yuuri’s expression was uncertain, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

“Yuuri, I know it’s hard for you to like yourself, or think you’re worth something. But I need you to know that you are worth everything I’ve ever given you and more. And not just because you’re a great skater, or because you’re beautiful, but because you’re Katsuki Yuuri. And just being Yuuri will always, _always_ be enough.”

Yuuri gasped softly, and Viktor maintained his gaze even as the beginnings of tears welled up in Yuuri’s eyes.

“Of course I want you to skate well and win lots of gold medals. But I want you to win them because you deserve them. I don’t want you to think that you have to win just to prove your worth to me. You don’t ever have to prove to me that you’re worthy, because I already know. I want you to win so you can prove it to the rest of the world.”

Yuuri’s tears began to flow, and he threw his arms around Viktor’s shoulders, softly crying into the crook of his neck. Viktor rubbed his back, feeling tears pricking in his own eyes. He let them fall. For much of his life, Viktor felt there was no place he could cry. He had to be the beautiful skater, the national hero, the charming celebrity. Now he knew, he could cry here, in Yuuri’s arms, where he didn’t have to be any of those things. Just as Yuuri only had to be Yuuri, here Viktor only had to be Viktor.

“I love you, Viktor,” Yuuri mumbled as his tears began to subside.

“I love you too. So, so much,” Viktor replied, holding his Yuuri close.

 

Later, after tears were shed and more words were shared, the two skaters found themselves curled together under the many covers of their bed. Viktor held up Yuuri’s right hand, admiring the ring adorning his finger in the low light.

“What would you think about having the wedding in Hasetsu?” he asked softly.

“I’d like that,” Yuuri said, reaching for Viktor’s own right hand. For a moment, the two simply lay there, looking at the rings that promised a future of the love they had given each other. In the end, it didn’t matter what those people said, because those ignorant words meant they simply didn’t understand what they had with each other.

Viktor smiled softly, rubbing the gold band, and said, “Viktor and Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov. I love how that sounds.”

Yuuri smiled as well.

“I do too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this is the first time I've written fanfic in like three years. I guess this show really inspired me! I wanted to do this because I've seen a few fics where people talk shit about Yuuri and we see Yuuri's reaction, but I haven't seen one where we really see Viktor's.


End file.
